14.03.24, 20:30, Kara Kafa (1979)

Deutschland, bittere Heimat. The recovery of post-war Germany was partly built on the shoulders of Turkish migrant workers. Although the Turkish diaspora continued to grow throughout the 1960s and 1970s, this community lacked the right to representation. Kara Kafa is a rare exception and shows a harsh, sobering look at the living and working conditions of Turkish metal workers in the Ruhr region. Following the integration of worker Cafer and his family, the film is a politically engaged melodrama that denounces the German dream of prosperity.

However shocking Cafer experiences his surroundings, that is how offensive the Turkish commission found the film. After Kara Kafa was released in 1980, the film was banned for "damaging the honour of Germany, our friendly nation". Director Korhan Yurtsever was prosecuted and fled to Berlin, where he lived in exile for several years. The original negatives that could not be confiscated by Turkish authorities unexpectedly surfaced in 2022 and served as the basis for this restoration.

This screening will count as the kick-off of our new Lost & Found series, where we will bring long-lost and maligned films out of the margins of film history and give them a place back on the silver screen.

This film will be introduced by archivist and Sinema Transtopia-programmer Can Sungu.